iOS 14: How cafes are using App Clips
A small Japanese café is using Apple’s NFC-based App Clips to let customers order and pay for items with their iPhones – no app download required.
In the vanguard
The cash-free Kitsando Coffee shop in Tokyo recently began offering up App Clips support. All a customer needs to do is tap an NFC tag with their iPhone to receive the App Clip to place their order, according to NCFW.
The entire ordering and payment process takes under a minute when using Apple Pay, there’s no sign-in or other fuss and bother to deal with, a Japanese blog reports.
“App Clips does a very good job of utilizing NFC reader mode and loading time with 4G LTE was also good. I still have doubts about the experience in a marginal WiFi environment (the WiFi Assist factor) and hope to test different places as App Clips gain traction. Bottom line: if NFC with reader mode is this slick, why would anybody bother with QR or App Clip Codes?”
This isn’t the only use we’ve heard of recently.
ExxonMobil is using AppClips to support a payment system at gas pumps in the U.S., and G-Star currently claims to be the first fashion retailer to make use of them in stores in Amsterdam and Utrecht, The Netherlands as this little video shows:
https://youtu.be/AoQW-ZOrDbI
More data at a tap
Klaas Buist, Digital Director Operations at G-Star, said:
“As the digital product information from App Clips is available in physical stores, consumers can easily see what a garment looks like when worn by a model.”
“They can then try the item on themselves in-store or purchase it online, in any size or colour. In this way, we gain the full potential from our omnichannel strategy.”
I guess we’ll see more implementations of this nature. It may also be a good opportunity for smaller retailers to work together to create dedicated shopping apps for local businesses, as the App Clip would provide initial functionality which could be translated into a full app download on the basis of such a local approach. You’ll also see a whole lot of this in advertising, I guess.
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